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National Resources Planning Board 



a specific design of aircraft, nor is research conducted 

 in fields of aeronautical science already adequately 

 covered by the industry. For example, the Committee's 

 own research does not deal with the metallurgy of 

 aluminum and steel, refining of gasoline, and materials 

 generally. Nor does it design engines, air|)lanes, nor 

 accessories such as radio. These matters are known 

 to be in good hands. 



The Committee conducts scientific labonilory and 

 free-flight research in the broad field of aerodjTiamic 

 structures, and publishes results of value to designers 

 affecting wing profiles and body forms, stability, and 

 control, propellers, and methods for predictmg airplane 

 performance. Tt conducts theoretical and experimental 

 research and, in general, seeks facts and principles 

 where knowledge is lacking. This includes matters of 

 structural strength, the combustion process and cool- 

 ing of engines, and answers to many fundamental ques- 

 tions arising from the use of airplanes by the several 

 Government agencies. Besides its own research re- 

 sults, the Committee makes available to the Army, 

 Navy, Civil Aeronautics Authority, and the industry 

 itself information obtained from abroad. For this 

 purpose it maintained an Office of Aeronautical Intelli- 

 gence and a full-time teclmical assistant in Europe sta- 

 tioned at the American Embassy in Paris. 



The aeronautical industry is supplied with basic 

 scientific information for its own design and research 

 groups to apply. The results of N. A. C. A. research 

 at Langley Field could not have been acquired by the 

 industry independently, as the cost of the necessary 

 equipment is far beyond the means of a young industry. 

 It is largely by the intelligent application of N. A. C. A. 

 aerodynamic findings by clever designers, that this 

 vigorous industry has been able to advance so rapidly. 



Naturally this information, when a])plied by foreign 

 competitors, would produce equally beneficial results 

 except that the more important results are not pub- 

 lished until American industry has had an opportunity 

 to study them. American designers, guided by their 

 owTi research groups, seem to have been prompt and 

 skillful in the application of such results and have had, 

 perhaps, greater confidence in the trustworthiness of 

 the N. A. C. A. reports. 



The N. A. C. A. conducts fundamental research at 

 public expense, which, in effect, constitutes a sub- 

 stantial subsidy to the industry. Such a subsidy may 

 be looked on as a small part of the cost of procuring 

 rapid progress in an art vital to the national defense. 

 Civil aeronautics benefits directly from the N. A. C. A. 

 research, and our air transport system now leads the 

 world in every aspect of good service. 



The N. A. C. A. performs a coordinating function by 

 means of subcommittees consisting of experts from 

 the Government agencies and from various branches 



of the industry. Research projects are initiated 

 or approved by appropriate subcommittees. Some 

 projects are assigned, by contract, to university or 

 other laboratories where special facilities or qualified 

 personnel exist. 



As a result of N. A. C. A. leadership, research in the 

 industiy has become applied. Tlirough N. A. C. A. 

 grants, most of the research in university laboratories 

 is coordinated with that at Langley Field. Through 

 Army and Navy procurement policy and Civil Aero- 

 nautics A\ithority regulatory functions, applied research 

 in the industry is likewise directed along lines desired 

 by the Federal Government. 



We, therefore, have the unique example of an in- 

 dustry, exploiting a new field of technology, for which 

 fundamental research is conducted for its benefit by 

 the Government. Applied research is conducted by 

 units of that industry, but under conditions that give 

 the Government effective control. 



The Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences 



An important factor in stimulating research efforts 

 of individuals was the formation in 1933 of the Institute 

 of the Aeronautical Sciences. This organization of 

 teclmical people includes specialists in aerodynamics, 

 structures, engines, metallurgy, meteorology, radio, 

 piloting, i)hysiology and all of the sciences applicable 

 to aeronautics. By means of national and regional 

 meetings and by the publication of a monthly scientific 

 journal, research problems are subjected to critical 

 examination. 



Society of Automotive Engineers 



The Society of Automotive Engineers, primarily 

 concerned with automotive engines and vehicles, has 

 had a strong influence on the development of airplane 

 engines and their special steels, fuels, lubricants, and 

 standardized parts. It should be noted that the first 

 publications dealing with the baffling of air-cooled 

 cylinders and the cowl with trailing edge flaps appeared 

 in the Society of Automotive Engineers' Journal. 



The Daniel Guggenheim Fund for 

 the Advancement of .\oronautics 



In many sciences, important advances have been 

 stimulated by the great foundations. In aeronautics 

 the stimidus given by the late Daniel Guggenheim is 

 still felt. In 1926, he established a fund of $2,500,000, 

 later increased to $3,000,000. which was all expended by 

 1930 in aid of aeronautical progress. Substantial 

 grants were made to eight imiversities for aeronautical 

 laboratory buildings on condition that the university 

 authorities maintain courses in aeronautical engineer- 

 ing, and in addition an airship institute was es- 

 tablished. These Guggenheim schools have been 



